Murderball

1) One of the central questions we are seeking to answer in this module is “What do sport psychology consultants need to be aware of when working with athletes with a disability”? Although there are many similarities among athletes with and without disabilities, sport psychologists would benefit from an awareness of information unique to athletes with disabilities.

2) The second topic we are interested in is applying Taylor’s model of stress management for coaches to Joe – how does the model contribute to our understanding of his stress, and how can it help guide us to make suggestions for an appropriate stress management program for him (also using the Thelwell et. al (2006) article.

3) In addition to this larger question, we are also interested in the use of Arousal Regulation-related psychological skills by the athletes and coaches in the film.

4) Text content for this topic is minimal (except for the arousal control (i.e., stress management) techniques that could assist Joe. Therefore, there will be a lot of emphasis on using the three articles as sources of information for this paper – i.e., referencing them properly with APA style.

This paper is due Thursday, November 17 at 11:59 a.m. (Usual conditions apply).

References for this Film Analysis

In order to analyze the film “Murderball” with respect to our main question we will need to read sections of the text and an excellent journal article by Jeff Martin on the topic. It will also be helpful for us to visit links related to wheelchair sport.

Chapter 12- Arousal Regulation.

Chapter 4 – Arousal, Stress, & Anxiety (pp. 82-84)

Martin, J.J. (2005). Sport psychology consulting with athletes with disabilities. Sport & Exercise Psychology Review, 1, 32-39. To get a copy of this article go to Google Scholar and enter these keywords: “wheelchair” “psychology” “sports”. On the third page of results (or thereabouts) you will find this entry which leads to a .pdf copy of the journal which contains this article. Here is Martin’s (1999) original, slightly longer article (optional reading): Martin (1999).